That's brilliant - thank you for that Jenny. Yes, the PISA results are also due at the end of this year... Scotland has been treading water when it comes to reading, since 2006. (and used to well above the international average before that in 2000). The results in December will show the impact, if a...

Thanks so much Jim - I was unaware of that income link. I also have reservations about the Harta research - but it 'sounds good' and very much fits with the ideology in Scotland at the moment. Many people won't read this doc - or get that far, sadly.

Thanks Maizie and Jenny for flagging this up - I have fixed the link now :D

Education Scotland have just published a new briefing on the teaching of early reading. This is a welcome development. Despite the fact that the Clackmannanshire research on phonics is internationally renowned - most schools in Scotland do not teach reading through Systematic Synthetic Phonics. :o B...

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/national-primary-curriculum-shifts-focus-to-core-skills/story-fn59nlz9-1227474939995 History and geography will be scrapped as separate subjects in the new national primary curriculum and schools will be forced to teach phonics-based reading...

The results of a study looking at the specially designed Dyslexie font and its effectiveness for children with dyslexia, are discussed in an article published in the August 2015 MultiLit Moment Newsletter. The study was carried out by Emeritus Prof Kevin Wheldall, Dr Alison Madelaine, Dr Eva Marinus...

https://theconversation.com/special-exam-arrangements-for-dyslexia-veering-out-of-control-43298 The new GCSE, which will be taught from September 2016, requires students to remember a number of poems and analyse at least one. Mary Meredith, a teacher and blogger who works with pupils with special le...

https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/labelling-children-dyslexic-could-hinder-teachers In our recent investigation we surveyed the beliefs of teachers in primary schools in the North-east of England in relation to supporting children who struggle with learning to read. We found that when presented with the ‘...

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/may/reading-brain-phonics-052815.html Stanford study on brain waves shows how different teaching methods affect reading development Stanford Professor Bruce McCandliss found that beginning readers who focus on letter-sound relationships, or phonics, increase activi...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-32836733 Teams from Bristol and Newcastle universities carried out eye tests on more than 5,800 children and did not find any differences in the vision of those with dyslexia. This raises doubts about the value of using coloured overlays or lenses to help dyslexic...

Thank you for taking the time to have a look John - just confirms my fears... all info well hidden behind subscription service - and programme last two years... what a lot of money for schools / nurseries. :-(

Just wondering if anyone has heard of Alphabet Babies? They have just secured a six figure investment. http://www.bqlive.co.uk/2015/05/18/six-figure-investment-for-new-alphabet-babies-launch/ Alphabet Juniors is more than a phonics programme. It is a complete language, literacy and communication pro...

Thanks for sharing that Susan - the books look great - so appealing! I have just bought some to show to teachers during training.:D

Thank you Maizie - great link. The Read On, Get On report for Scotland is worse, I think - actively promotes sight words... it shows why this belief is so widespread. The 'Ten Minutes a Day' mantra is very misleading I feel :-(

Just had to add this to the thread - advice from Sue Ellis on reading in this week's TES Scotland. No more ‘input-outputs’ According to Ellis, schools need access to better data on literacy focusing on what matters most – pupils’ comprehension, decoding fluency and engagement – at a point in the yea...